White Lotus Costume Designer Alex Bovaird Explains Season Three Model

From the cryptic murals within the opening credit to the patterns that cloak the characters, there is no such thing as a element too small to pore over for “White Lotus” followers — together with the clothes.

Over the previous three seasons, costume designer Alex Bovaird has supplied a visible feast for viewers to dine on. For the third season, which picks up in Thailand and follows a brand new crop of vacationers — in addition to some acquainted faces — as their trip morphs right into a waking nightmare, Bovaird went greater than ever. You’ll be able to see the ends in the fourth episode of Season Three the place Chloe (Charlotte Le Bon), the girlfriend of Greg-slash-Gary (Jon Gries), seems to be like a strolling postcard in a pink, bodysuit, sheer skirt and wide-brimmed hat — all of which had been custom-designed by Jacquemus designer Simon Porte Jacquemus.

The look is considered one of two that Bovaird collaborated with Jacquemus on, and was years within the making. “I’ve actually cherished seeing Jacquemus from the start, and tried to work with them on Season Two, but it surely form of fell via the cracks,” Bovaird defined to WWD of the “White Lotus” collaboration. “Simon [Porte] reached out to me on social media and mentioned he loves Season Two and if I needed to do something that he’d be up for it.”

After studying the script for Season Three and figuring out that Chloe’s character “can be the one to put on Jacquemus as a result of she’s younger, travels rather a lot, and doubtless spent a whole lot of time in Saint-Tropez,” the duo exchanged inspiration photographs of classic swimwear from the ‘60s and ‘70s, in addition to references to Bangkok. Bovaird additionally shared a palette of “black and white and metallic,” which comes throughout within the polka-dot bodysuit paired with a striped sequined skirt that Chloe wears in episode one when she meets Chelsea on the bar. 

“We got here up with these seems to be to make her look putting, however not overwhelming,” Bovaird defined. “[Chloe] has a little bit of a nautical vibe. But additionally she’s so robust and simply doesn’t give a heck.” 

For Season Three of “White Lotus,” Bovaird not solely combed via archives of ‘60s and ‘70s resortwear “when individuals went on vacation [and] had an entire wardrobe for it,” she additionally turned to the current day on Instagram. “The analysis is a whole lot of actual footage and a whole lot of sleuthing across the web,” Bovaird shared. “With social media as of late, it’s fairly simple to pop in the fitting hashtag and or location and take a look at what everybody’s posting at these resorts, like 4 Seasons Resort Koh Samui or Mandarin Oriental Bangkok. All people is placing their greatest selves ahead in these footage. That’s what we attempt to do with ‘White Lotus.’”

If Chloe’s sculptural type looks as if a foil to the maximalist aptitude of Tanya (Jennifer Coolidge), that’s not coincidental. “She’s like the alternative of Tanya,” Bovaird mentioned. “She’s a lot youthful. She’s utilizing Greg, who’s going by Gary in Thailand, whereas he was utilizing Tanya. So the dynamic has shifted: She’s form of grifting on him, she has his bank card, and she or he’s upfront about it. It’s nearly like an settlement that they’ve — you understand, an association. In dressing, she wears black, and her silhouette is smooth and fashion-forward, whereas Tanya had a whole lot of flamboyant and flowy, Bohemian getups.”

In the meantime Greg/Gary is on his personal sartorial journey all through all three seasons of “White Lotus.” “He begins off in Season One fairly un-stylish, similar to a median Joe,” Bovaird shared. “And we needed to make him just a little extra stylish as he goes alongside. We needed to offer him some handsome garments on this season as a result of he’s received a lot of cash. So Zegna and Isaia, as you understand — he packed all that stuff up from Europe — but in addition has some louder shirts. Once they exit on the yacht, there’s a bunch of those Losers Again Residence that we received to place all our enjoyable shirts on.” 

When requested how she approached crafting the visible id of the “LBH,” or “Loser Again Residence” as Chloe refers to it whereas introducing Chelsea to the idea within the first episode of the third season, Bovaird recounted, “We had been out in Thailand, so that they had been all proper in entrance of us, particularly after we had been in Phuket and Bangkok. You simply need to stroll round at evening, and there’s a lot of males of a sure age who both reside in Thailand or spend months at a time in Thailand — they usually get to get pleasure from their life in a method that they’ll. No additional touch upon their way of life, however their gown was very prevalent. They put on loud prints and shorts and flip-flops, they usually form of simply seem like they’re completely on trip. And we did just a little little bit of that with Gary.” 

The printed shirts worn by Rick (Walton Goggins), nonetheless, signify one thing totally different. “When he’s within the resort, he’s nearly a fish out of water as a result of he’s not sporting high-end garments,” Bovaird shared. “He’s sporting cool Hawaiian shirts which are largely classic, and he’s presupposed to seem like, ‘What’s happening with this man?’ He wears these huge, flowy linen pants which are tremendous low cost on the market.”

Within the “White Lotus” universe, Chelsea (Aimee Lou Wooden), Rick’s girlfriend, additionally picked up a few of her garments from native markets. “The concept for Chelsea was that she hasn’t been again to Manchester in fairly some years,” Bovaird mentioned. “She’s been touring in India and Indonesia, and she or he’s collected issues alongside the best way. So the inspiration was form of the backpacker vibe that you just get on the market — issues that you could possibly have gotten on the markets.”

On the alternative finish of the sartorial spectrum is the Ratliff household, whose type was knowledgeable largely by Bovaird’s private life. “I’m married to a southerner and all my American household are from the south,” Bovaird mentioned. “They’ve an entire world. After I go residence, there are particular prints that they put on and colours that they put on, and there’s undoubtedly a mode of dressing.”

For matriarch Victoria, performed by Parker Posey, that meant accessorizing with items from traditional luxurious manufacturers. “She’s received two luggage: a Gucci bag with a bamboo deal with and just a little Louis Vuitton barrel that she opens and closes,” Bovaird defined. “We knew they had been going to be proven rather a lot, and, virtually, it was necessary to search out the fitting luggage. And that the vintage-style Gucci bag was simply so fairly. It was cream. It was going to be noticeable, and simply appeared to go well with Victoria, who’s previous southern cash however isn’t making journeys to New York to get excessive vogue. She’s simply extra traditional.”

Posey’s attire, however, hail from a nicely of unusual sources for her character. “There’s fairly a little bit of Rachel Comey, which was not one thing I might have instantly considered however the assortment was simply so proper for Victoria,” Bovaird mentioned. “The gown she wears on the yacht is Rachel Comey. The gown she arrives in is Banana Republic. And we took a whole lot of inspiration from this lady I met from Birmingham, Ala. and she or he sells classic caftans. She wears a few them, after which wears a caftan from Jim Thompson when she goes to the monastery that’s actually beautiful. It’s an organization that’s in Bangkok, and it’s all around the vacationer resorts. They do actually stunning traditional attire. She additionally has a Jim Thompson gown at dinner in episode one.”

When it got here to costume design for Season Three, Bovaird was additionally tasked with deciphering the nuances in type between the three buddies: Jaclyn (Michelle Monaghan), Kate (Leslie Bibb) and Laurie (Carrie Coon). “Jaclyn is an actress, so we think about that she has a lot of branded clothes and we thought possibly she’s received a relationship with Valentino and she or he’s bringing all these things that she received despatched to her for her trip, and she or he’s sharing it just a little bit with Kate,” Bovaird defined, including, “I believe Kate and her are the extra meticulous girls of their type, and Laurie’s making an attempt to catch up. She, in her regular life, doesn’t care an excessive amount of, however she is aware of she’s happening vacation along with her previous buddies, and so she’s making an attempt to slot in just a little extra. And she or he, you understand, she nonetheless seems to be actually nice, however she doesn’t have as many items as they do.” 

As for Easter Eggs, Bovaird is conscious of the threads which have been sparked from the costume design on “White Lotus.” “There was a viral factor in regards to the significance of Portia’s prime [in Season Two] as a result of it was from ‘The Princess Diaries,’” Bovaird recalled, including, “I pulled that prime from Disney’s rental home, so it in all probability did come from that precise present. However it wasn’t an Easter egg. Typically it’s utterly unpredictable. Typically individuals simply look into issues in a humorous method.” (Although she did share that this season “there’s Sicilian garments that we nonetheless had that the extras are sporting.”)

When requested about seems to be this season that might spark comparable conversations, Bovaird replied, “You’ll be able to’t actually predict it. I keep in mind final season, yeah, there was a whole lot of speak about why is [Portia] sporting a sweater vest? It’s too scorching. And I needed to be like, truly, ‘That was a freezing chilly day we shot in February. It’s chilly.’ There have been days that we needed to cancel filming as a result of individuals’s tooth had been chattering.” 

This season Chelsea is the one pairing knits along with her bikinis, which Bovaird defined as “I like all of the totally different textures on display screen, and I believe it’s actually fascinating to make use of a textured wool piece, crocheted piece, or macramé piece on prime of a washing go well with. It provides a pleasant layer to the styling and the pictures, and, actually, there’s so many swimwear scenes that typically we’re making an attempt to create seems to be out of bikinis. We love the idea of dressing up for the pool, which we went even additional on this 12 months, upping the ante as we go.”